EDITORIAL: NJ should ban all bump stocks

New Jersey lawmakers are pushing for an outright ban on “bump stocks” and other gun accessories designed to turn ordinary rifles and semi-automatic guns into assault weapons.

There could hardly be an easier bill to support, if legislators were inclined to think rationally on the subject. But we’re talking about guns, which makes such discussions become needlessly complicated.

A bump stock allows a shooter to fire off far more rounds per second, greatly magnifying the killing power of the weapon. The shooter in October’s Las Vegas massacre used a bump stock that almost certainly increased the number of casualties.

There is no worthy reason for anyone to own a bump stock. Government officials have a responsibility to ban such pointlessly lethal devices.

New Jersey already bans machine guns and automatic weapons, and also prevents gun owners from possessing components like bump stocks or “trigger cranks” to convert permissible guns into assault weapons. The new legislation would expand the components ban to everyone, not just gun owners. Opponents complain about the supposed punitive qualities of the bill, with a limited amnesty period allowing existing bump stock owners to turn in their devices, but that’s weak even for the National Rifle Association.

In the immediate aftermath of the Vegas killings the NRA made noises about accepting certain bump-stock restrictions, as did lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The NRA wasn’t serious, of course, because the organization views even the most minimal gun restriction as a constitutional offense and step toward mass gun confiscation. Lawmakers taking their cue from the NRA similarly failed to meaningfully follow up, leaving federal action in the hands of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which appears to be wasting time examining nuances of existing language to see if a ban already exists.

In other words, cowardice and capitulation rule once again.

Opponents say a bump-stock ban won’t curb gun violence, and they’re right. But that’s hardly the point. Killers will still kill, with or without weapons possessing machine-gun lethality. But lives in Las Vegas would have been saved if the shooter hadn’t been able to fire so many bullets into the crowd so quickly. That’s not hard to understand.

A statewide ban on bump stocks and trigger cranks will have limited impact in isolation; only Massachusetts and California already have such prohibitions. And, as the NRA always likes to remind us, criminals can still get their hands on most anything they want, illegally. But New Jersey has an obligation to stand tall in contrast to the ignorance of other states. Each small step taken to rein in the gun plague helps, and collectively they can make a difference and save lives.

It isn’t clear if Gov. Chris Christie would sign off before he leaves office; he does have a more progressive gun-control history than we’ve seen in recent years. Lawmakers may have to take up the cause again once Gov.-elect Phil Murphy is in place. Either way, this one should be an easy decision.